Coming Home From Drug Rehab

As a spouse of a drug addict, you’ve obviously dealt with a lot,. You may have a lot of mixed feelings and stress about your loved one coming home after drug rehab. You have probably made excuses, thought about leaving, pleaded with your spouse to get help, closed your eyes and hoped it would get better, and many other things. You were probably relieved when they committed to drug rehab and spent much needed time there. They are finally ready to come home and start their life of sobriety. Are you ready for this?

Everyone’s Old Habits Need To Be Changed After Drug Rehab

Consider some of the ways you used to react to your spouse’s addiction before they got drug treatment. Did you get really resentful and cut off communication? Did you cover for all their missteps and times they didn’t show up places? Did you get really angry and speak unkindly to them? Or did you clam up and not say a word about your true feelings because you thought they didn’t matter? Whatever your typical reactions were, you need be aware and understand why you did them. Once you are clear on what you used to do, it will be important to figure out what you can do differently.

The key is understanding that your spouse’s addiction behaviors are likely to be somewhat different from their “sober life” behaviors. Hopefully, they have had some new understandings, made connections, and had more clear thinking about why they did what they did. If you don’t do the same kind of clarifying and changing, your spouse’s return home from drug rehab could be difficult.

Of course, any recovering addict has to do their part. They need to stay sober, maintain their healthy habits, go to their support groups, and have good communication with people who truly care for them. Getting and
staying sober is hard work. But a spouse plays such an important part in making their home environment conducive to sober recovery. Your emotional support and understanding of addiction can really help them
stay on track.

Get Support For Yourself Before Spouse Returns Home From Drug Rehab

Alanon is a great support organization designed just for family and friends of people with addictions. They help you understand addiction and how it affects relationships. You can get support from others in the
same position and receive important information you need to know about healthy addiction recovery. You can understand how the addiction has affected you and how you can positively change your behaviors and
outlook.

It is possible for an addict to go to drug rehab and live a healthy family life after that. Make sure you are prepared to help your recovering spouse connect the pieces for sober living. Remember – addiction
doesn’t just affect the addict. It affects the whole family.